Three Tips to Write Effectively

Whether you are educating your patient in the office or writing an article for a Web site, here are a few tips to make sure that your patient/viewers get your message.

Too Many Messages

The most difficult task is trying to jam too many messages into one article. Not only does your article become unnecessarily long, but you de-emphasize your real message. In most cases , you want to try and deliver one message per article...no more.

You Are NOT Teaching Yourself

I often find I discount how much I know. I am pretty sure most doctors and other professionals do this as well.

Just as your patients did not go to med school, your audience does not have the same background as you.

Keep your writing, and your message, clear and straightforward. You are right to assume that your audience is naive and knows almost nothing about the subject of your article. You are NOT writing to a bunch of doctors.

Don’t be afraid to sound stupid...you won’t.

Keep Your Style Humble

This last point cannot be overemphasized. Speaking and writing that is too technical is really boring. It is a turn off. Some of us think it is impressive (remember Charles Winchester on the TV show M*A*S*H?), but overall it doesn’t work for the Internet.

Using terms that are more common and less difficult to understand naturally makes it easier to deliver your message.

The bottom line is that you want your readers, as you do your patients, to get your message. Delivery of your message effectively really shows off how much you know.

Now that’s impressive!